Ons Jabeur applauds Iga Swiatek on earning prestigious nomination for 'Sportswoman of the Year' at Laureus Sports Awards
Ons Jabeur was excited to see her on-court rival Iga Swiatek as one of the nominees for the 'Sportswoman of the Year' award at the prestigious Laureus Sports Awards. World No. 4 Jabeur reacted to the development, congratulating World No. 1 Swiatek for the achievement.
Announced on Monday, the 21-year-old Polish superstar was named as a nominee for one of the biggest awards at the event, alongside Barcelona soccer star Alexia Putellas, swimmer Katie Ledecky, Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin, and athletics champions Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone.
Seeing her on-court rival and off-court friend Swiatek share the stage with other big names in the world of sport, with a chance to be crowned 'Sportswoman of the year', Jabeur took to social media to express her happiness over the same. The Tunisian reacted to a post highlighting the nominees by tagging Swiatek with a bunch of congratulatory emojis.
@eurosport @iga_swiatek 🙏🙏 👏👏👏
Swiatek's incredible 2022 season gives her a very strong chance of winning the award, despite other nominees also earning huge achievements last season in their respective sports. The Polish player won eight WTA titles last year, including two Grand Slams. By winning 67 of her 76 matches throughout 2022, Swiatek also recorded the most wins in a single season by a player since Serena Williams in 2013. She also crossed the 11,000 point-mark in the WTA rankings.
Meanwhile, Ons Jabeur is currently recovering after undergoing knee surgery for an injury that troubled her during the Australian Open. Jabeur withdrew from the Qatar Open and Dubai Tennis Championships, but is expected to be back on tour in a few weeks.
"I'm sure we're gonna have many matches this season" - Iga Swiatek wishes Ons Jabeur a quick recovery
Iga Swiatek recently wished Ons Jabeur a speedy recovery from her ongoing injury troubles and praised the Tunisian's competitiveness and skills on the court. Swiatek said that she always enjoys competing against Jabeur and was optimistic that the two players will face each other multiple times on the court this season once Jabeur is back in action.
"Ons is the kind of player you always enjoy competing against, because like she has this energy and a lot of power and skill. I'm sure we're gonna have many matches this season, and I hope she's recovering well," Iga Swiatek said in an interview at the 2023 Qatar Open.
Swiatek and Jabeur last faced each other in the final of the 2022 US Open, which Swiatek won 6-2, 7-6(5) to clinch her maiden US Open title, third career Grand Slam title, and second Major of the 2022 season. Overall, Swiatek has won three of the five matches the two players have competed in against each other.
After winning the Qatar Open in dominant fashion last week, Swiatek is the overwhelming favorite to win this week's Dubai Tennis Championships.